Love the One You're With
by Lynnlee22
Summary: Dinah and Shayne...a rewrite


"Don't say yes!" Those had been the words she'd used when she'd come bursting into the church with A.C. Mallet a few steps behind her. Those were the same words that still echoed in his head, even now, nearly a half hour later as he stood on the steps of the church with Marina.

"I can't believe she actually crashed another one of my weddings," she sniffled, looking up at Shayne. "I mean, my God…am I not allowed to have one wedding day? One perfect wedding day?" Hearing nothing, she spoke louder, "Shayne…Shayne! Are you even listening to me?"

He lifted his head quickly. "Yeah…Yes, I am. I'm sorry. I know…I know this is hard for you. I just…I don't understand. I don't understand why she'd come back here…not like this…not in the middle of your wedding. I mean she's a wanted fugitive. Why come back in the middle of an event where she knows half of the police department is going to be? Why?"

"Because she's crazy, Shayne! My God…you haven't figured that out yet! Who knows why Dinah does anything she does. She never has rational reasons for anything. Anyway, it doesn't matter." She reached down, smoothing her dress as she stood up straighter. "Soon enough my Dad will have her carted down to the police station and we can get back to our wedding."

"No," Shayne said quickly, his reply even surprising himself.

"What did you say?" Marina asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"I want to see her. I want to talk to her. I need to talk to her."

* * *

"Frank," Mallet whispered, trying desperately to persuade him. "I know you have a job to do here, but could you just give her a minute with him. It's not like she's going to run. This place is crawling with cops. Come on? Where's she going to go?"

"I don't know, Mallet. With the right kind of help.." He narrowed his eyes, glaring knowingly at him, "who knows what someone with Dinah's resume could accomplish."

"That's not what this is about," he sighed. "She just wants to talk to him…just for a minute before he's married…before it's a done deal."

"He's marrying my daughter, Mallet. You brought her in here and interrupted my little girl's wedding. How do you think that makes me feel?"

They both looked back as the door to the church opened and sunlight streamed into the room.

"Daddy," Marina said, her voice shaking slightly. "Could you give them a minute please?"

Frank stared, stunned momentarily. "Sweetheart…you can't be serious. I would think that you of all people would…"

"Just give them a minute Dad, please." Marina glanced over at Dinah and then at her father. He nodded at her quickly, took her hand and led her out of the room.

"I'll be right outside," Mallet said quietly, stepping out behind them.

* * *

As the door closed, Shayne turned, looking at her as she stood there in front of him. "I don't even know where to start," he whispered. "So many times I've thought about what I'd say to you if I ever saw you again and now that you're here…now that you're really standing here in front of me, it's all gone."

She nodded, the tears already falling steadily down her face and onto her neck and shoulders.

"Part of me wants to grab you and hold you and never let go," he admitted.

"What about the other part," she asked, fearful of the true answer.

"The other part is disgusted by the sight of you right now."

"I know what I did was horrible. Killing that man and lying to you about it was…"

"No," he interrupted, "That I could have forgiven. That we could have worked through, but you left me. You walked away without so much as a goodbye. You just left. I had no idea where you were…if you alive..if you were in jail…if you were safe. My God do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Her words seemed so hollow even as she felt them leave her lips. "I don't know what else I can say."

"You can start by telling me what you're doing here." It didn't make any sense—the way he was feeling now. Even as angry as he was, it took everything in him to stop himself from running to her and pulling her close to him. Some mornings he'd wake up and swear she was in bed next to him. Looking at her now, that was all he wanted, the feeling of her in his arms again.

"I couldn't let you marry Marina….not without telling you the truth…"

"The truth," he breathed. "The truth? I thought we covered the truth before you left. What else could you possibly have to tell me."

"I love you so much, Shayne. Everything I said to you in my vows was true. I wanted the life you promised me. I wanted to build a family with you."

"You lied to me." Looking away, he inhaled deeply, trying to keep himself from falling apart. Sometimes thinking about it was too much. "Marina and Henry are my family now. I can be a father to my son. We can be a family. She's the mother of my child. I care about her…I always have."

"But you don't love her, Shayne. I know you….better than you'd like me too. You don't love her."

He didn't meet her gaze, afraid she'd see that she was right. "I've always cared about Marina…maybe not….maybe not the same way that I loved you, but she'd been honest with me."

"I know I hurt you. I know I lied to you, but I'm here now. I'm here to be honest with you now. I love you, Shayne. I've never stopped." She checked his eyes, the deep green orbs now brighter and glistening with tears, "Now can you be honest with me? Can you tell me that don't love me? Tell me you don't still love me and I'll walk away. I'll walk away and turn myself in and you'll never have to deal with me again."

Shane stood unmoving. His mind spun, searching for an answer….searching for some way to answer a question that he'd been fighting for months.

"You can't say it, can you? You can't tell me that you don't love me because you do. Come on, Shayne…You're so big on honesty. Be honest with me! Tell me…Tell me how you feel!" She was yelling now and she no longer cared. It wouldn't be the first time she was in the middle of a scene and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"Yes, ok!" He took a step towards her, closing off most of the distance between them. "You know that I love you. You know that I'll always love you. That doesn't stop…at least not for me it doesn't, but Marina…Marian and I are different. I can count on her. I can build a life with her. She's the mother of my child."

Dinah shook her head, smiling sadly. She reached down, pulling at the belt of her coat. "So am I," she whispered.

* * *

"You're…" He couldn't move. He just stared at the unmistakable bump that until just this moment had been hidden under her coat. "Why didn't you…" Gripping the back of his neck hard, he inhaled, holding the breath for a moment, trying to understand…to make sense of it all. How could she have kept this from him?

"I was so afraid, Shayne." Every day it had grown more and more difficult not to call him. This baby, this child inside of her was a living, breathing reminder of everything that she'd left behind, of everything she'd lost.

"Afraid of what?" His voice shook—She knew him—knew how much he wanted a family…how much having children meant to him. How could she keep this a secret? He finally managed to look into her eyes. "Why would you be afraid to tell me this?"

He didn't understand. He couldn't…he'd never experienced it before. "If I came back," she managed, reaching up to wipe the tears that still fell freely. "I wasn't coming back to you…I was coming back to prison." She stared at him, her eyes begging. "Don't you understand? I'm going to prison, Shayne."

The realization hit him like a brick as he looked over her shoulders to see the parking lot full of cops out front. No matter what she'd done, no matter how many lies she'd told, he loved her and she was here in front of him again.

"No," he said quietly. "No, you're not."

"Shayne. There's nothing you can do to stop this. I knew what I was doing when I came here today. I knew what I was giving up, but I also knew what I was giving you. You'll be the best father," she smiled her hand resting on her swollen belly. "You'll take care of our baby. I know you will."

"No." He shook his head violently. He couldn't lose her….not again. Not when he just got her back. "They can't take you to prison….you're pregnant." The words fell out of his mouth, his emotions getting the better of him. "They wouldn't put a pregnant woman in prison."

She took his hand in hers, giving it a slight squeeze. "I'm sure I'll be in a different part of the prison until the baby's born," she replied softly. "Mallet said he'll do everything he can to try and talk to Frank. If he asks the judge, they might agree to placement in a minimum security facility.

She forced a smile. "It won't be that bad."

"But I won't…I won't be able to…" He extended his shaking hand and placed it on her stomach, surprised by how connected he already felt to the child he'd known for all of five minutes.

"Time's up, you two," Frank bellowed, entering the room with two officers. Mallet entered through the other door.

"Frank," he said quietly. "She'll go on her own. Let me go with her and you can take us in the squad car. No cuffs."

"She's a fugitive, Mallet. I'm not accustomed to giving preferential treatment to felons who've been on the lam for months."

"How about giving some preferential treatment to the woman who saved your grandson's life, then?" Mallet spat, standing in between Dinah and Frank.

Frank was silent as the gravity of the words settled. "Fine," he responded quietly. "Let's go."

"Come on," Mallet whispered, taking Dinah's arm gently.

Shayne took her hand, pulling her back. "Let her go, Mallet," he demanded. "Dinah's not going anywhere."


End file.
